Snow Play

Today is January 19th!  Vincent is 4 months old.  Time has gone by too quickly.  His 4 month old check up is tomorrow and I'm guessing he'll be starting solid foods soon, at his doctors advice.  This week..three days ago..he began grabbing his feet.  It's too cute!  He also loves to look at himself in the mirror and he can roll from his back to his side pretty easily to reach for toys.  He has such a cute personality and is a very happy baby.  The only time he really cries is when he is hungry or tired.  We've noticed his one true fear is of walking down the stairs.  When I hold him while walking down the stairs he holds his arms stiffly straight out and holds his breath.  Then when we get to the bottom he'll either relax or cry...if he was really upset.  It is so sad to watch!

The weekends have really been heating up with the kids involved in so many activities.  Zachary has started a swim clinic and plays basketball.  Isabella began basketball too.  It is hilarious to watch preschool kids playing basketball!  They have no clue what they are doing but they are having fun!  Our Saturday's sound something like this...wake up, breakfast, swim clinic,lunch, isabella's basketball, home, zachary's basketball.  This Saturday I'm starting knitting classes so we'll stick that in there too, along with some time to go running...it's a pretty crazy day.

Last week the kids had a snow day.  That gave us a chance to go out and play in the snow!   The kids made a snowman in the backyard with Kyle using face pieces from the Mr. Potato Man kit.  Then, I took the kids sledding at the park while Kyle got some work done at home with Vincent.  They ran up and down the hills until they were exhausted.  Zachary would fall off the sleep purposefully and roll down the hill. 

I didn't mention our new pets last time.  Zachary got two pet frogs for Christmas from Uncle Jed and Katie.  He decided to name them John Wall and Fred Rocks.  He has invented little personalities for them both.  They are super easy to take care of since they only get fed twice a week and they are supposed to live up to 5 years!  That seems like a long time for such a tiny creature.  They are helping him learn responsibility since he has to remember to feed them on Monday's and Thursday's.  I always forget to remind him but he does it on his own.

Other weird stuff we are doing around the house...Zachary and Isabella have been inspired by an American Express TV commercial to find faces in everyday objects. They love the commercial and laugh hysterically at every face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56F4EKN9hg

They like to look for them when they are riding in the car but I never have my camera with me.  Yesterday Zachary found his first face that we were able to take a picture of.  I guess the TV has inspired some creativity in the kids!  Maybe it's not all bad.

Kyle and I are having a soup contest.  So far I am in the lead with my Shrimp Chowder recipe that I stole from Real Simple magazine!  It was delicious!  I can't remember when we came up with the idea to have a soup-off contest.  I've made a potato vegetable and squash soup.  Kyle has made Vegetable Cassoulet and his awesome chili (does that count as a soup?)  So far I think the Shrimp Chowder has been the best...however Kyle is not a good judge since he's been sick for 3 weeks and claims he can't taste anything.  I think he just doesn't want to admit to how great my soups are!  I don't know what's on the soup list for this week.  I haven't been inspired yet!

Well, lots is coming up this week.  Zachary had career day today and I will be going in to his school on Thursday to talk about being a science teacher.  We have boy scouts and basketball practice this week..and games and swimming on the weekend.  It will be a busy one as always.  There is no time to be bored in this house!

The Christmas Post

This post one may be a long one.  The week of Christmas was pretty busy.  It all went by so fast and we are already back to school. 

Our first family Christmas event was Grandpa Hinton's on the Saturday before Christmas.  At his house we play a Christmas exchange game and this year the hot item was a Best Buy gift card.  Grandpa ended up with a package of Body Art Tattoos which was pretty funny!

Monday we went to see Santa in the mall.  The kids took Santa their Christmas lists.  Isabella asked for Pet Shops, Zachary asked for games, and Zachary wrote one for Vincent which included a wish for The Greatest Pooh frame and Laugh and learn mailbox.

Christmas Eve went went to Uma's house for a delicious breakfast.  The kids opened presents at her house and we relaxed for a while.   Uma got a outdoor fireplace.  The kids got lots of fun toys, including the Star Wars legos, Audubon birds with real bird calls, and Zhu Zhu pets...another hot Christmas item.  The only thing missing was Uncle Michael. We wished he could have been here for Christmas :(

 On Christmas Eve night we went to Pop and MawMaw's family Christmas.  We had a family dinner and then opened presents.  Isabella got lots of Barbies and Zachary got several fun games.  We have especially enjoyed Sorry Sliders!

 

 

This picture includes Pop and Maw Maw with all the grandkids.

On Christmas day we knew the kids would be up early.  Zachary got up at 5:45!  He came down and checked out all the presents.  Then we let him go up and wake up his brother and sister.  We opened the stockings, then ate breakfast, and finally opened up all our presents.  My favorite presents are the ones that the kids bring home from school.  Zachary got a globe and pen set for Kyle's desk at school.  He got me a Mom highlighter, Isabella some butterfly tattoos, and Vincent got a small squeeze frog.  Isabella made us handprints in a frame.  She was very proud of that.

Christmas Day Mass at St. Stephen Martyr

The day after Christmas we spent the day with the Yochum family.  We opened presents then ate lunch.  It was a relaxing day.  Paw Paw is helping to open a Christmas ornament in that picture. 

Vincent was crying in that picture because he was tired...not because of the UK hat!

Zachary spent the rest of the break putting together his legos and playing with Vincents birds. Isabella played pet shops and barbies for hours.  New Years Eve we spent the evening watching movies and playing "Pin the Donkey on the Tail".

On New Years day we went to the Science Center and played in the Kid Zone. The Science Center and the Zoo are the kids two favorite places to visit. 

It was Vincents first time at the center and the first time we've take a baby to the baby zone!  He looks pretty mesmerized in this picture!!

Additional baby news...Vincent rolled over for the first time..two days before Christmas.  He rolled from his tummy to his back.  He also smiled at himself in the mirror.  To celebrate the New Year he became ticklish.  He loves to laugh!!

Now on to the New Year.  I've started hunting for child care for Vincent, which is no easy task.  So far I've visited 4 places and I haven't found one that I'm totally happy with.  We'll see how that goes.  Isabella and Zachary have started basketball at SSM and Zachary will soon start an intensive swim clinic at St. X.  Also, I'm running again and trying to train for the triple crown of running. I'm sure the new year will bring lots of new excitement and fun.